A Calabrian Adventure
by George Lilli   <>    Edited by Melissa Posca

We arrived at Rome’s ‘Leonardo DaVinci’ Airport around 7 AM that Sunday morning of January 28th. Our trip via ‘Alitalia Airlines’ had been 10 hours long, and yet it had been a comfortable one.

In Calabria, we are presented a plaque by Oriolo's Mayor "Mario Mauri".

We soon passed through Italian customs and were shortly met at the passenger gate by our tour guide, a young man named Alio D’Angelo, who was waiting for us along with a few others who would be joining us for our ten day tour. After their arrival we were all taken by bus from the airport to our hotel, where we checked in and were introduced to other members of our tour group. We would be sightseeing in Rome for 2 days and from there we would be touring the northern regions of Italy.This was exciting for me as I had never been north of Rome on my previous trips to Italy.

On the following morning our tour began and as scheduled the next two days were spent visiting various sights in Rome, including, of course, the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and the many Roman ruins. On the third day we boarded our bus to begin our journey of Northern Italy. (Note: Since the main subject of this article is ‘Calabria’, I am not going to spend a lot of time describing our tour.) I will say that we traveled to Varona, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Assisi, and one or two other cities. Joe and I both agreed that after seeing Rome, every other place becomes secondary. I will say, though, that I found Assisi very impressive. The old village is old and beautiful and there is a feeling that fills your heart with warmth. You are constantly aware that this is the city of the great saint ‘Francis of Assisi’. Also, in Assisi, we were thrilled to stay in a 13th century castle. All of our hotels (included in the tour) were quite good, but we felt that this was going to be the ultimate experience (little did we know that the best was yet to come). While in Assisi, we found a film crew filming a movie with Terrance Hill, whom you may recall from the old ‘Trinity’ movies, and also a couple of Clint Eastwood western movies as well.

In Assisi we met Italian Actor terrance Hill, who was happy to pose with us.

Joe and I met and took some photos with him. He spoke perfect English and was quite friendly. We were able to talk with him for awhile before they resumed filming. From Assisi, our tour headed south where we visited Pompeii, Sorento, Capri, and then on to Naples by boat, where we once again boarded our bus for our return back to Rome where we would end our tour. During our travels of the various cities, one thing that both Joe and I agreed on was that the people of Southern Italy (south of Rome) seemed friendlier and showed a warmer disposition that those in the North.

Even in the shops, there seemed to be less pressure by the sales people, and life in general seemed topass by at a much slower pace.

After returning to our hotel in Rome, we cleaned up and got dressed for our final dinner with the group. We had by now become good friends with many of these people, and this was going to be a sort of farewell event. The following morning Joe and I took a cab from the hotel to the Rental Car agency. (From this point on, ‘Our Real Adventure Officially Begins’)
Rome to Naples
From Rome, we headed south in our little rented Fiat. Our final destination would be Calabria, but since it was Monday, and we weren’t expected in Oriolo until Thursday, we had quite a bit of time on our hands. We decided that we would just bum around those few days and take things as they came. On the first day we drove to Coppacio where we hoped to visit the Greek ruins at Pastreum, just a short distance south of Salerno. Pastreum has some of the best preserved ancient Greek ruins to be found anywhere on the Italian peninsula, dating back before 500 BC. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to arrive there until after 5 PM and to our great disappointment found the gates to the grounds closed. We then decided that we would find something to eat, and see about finding a hotel close by. We eventually ended up at a very nice little hotel in the cillage of Coppacio, where we not only found lodging but also had an excellent supper as well. No one at the hotel spoke English, but the owner was proud to present his 12 year old son, who was studing English in school. Joe and I had a great time that evening with him and his son, throwing words back and forth. There was a lot of laughing and teasing about mispronounced words both in their English and our Italian. We were also given complimentary samples of all the local cheeses and meats and wines from the area, along with information and literature about Pastreum and other local sights. Later that evening we telephoned our friend Alex Vanarsdale, who is from Philidelphia and now lives in Naples. Like Joe and I, Alex’s family roots are also in Oriolo. We made arrangements to meet with him in Naples the next day.
I want to say something about the telephone system in Italy. Phone calls are very expensive. Even when making local calls, you are charged by the minute and if you are making calls from a hotel room, WATCH OUT!!!! You will, in most cases, by charged a large service fee, plus additional taxes you wouldn’t otherwise pay, and this could be very expensive. The best way to go is to purchase a ‘Telephone Card’ at one of the local ‘Tobacci’ shops. These cards will give you the very lowest rates at any time of the day, and you will find special telephones throughout Italy (including small villages in the south) that are specially equipped with slots to receive these cards. With a 10,000 Lire ($7.00) phone card, I was able to make up to 3 short calls to the USA. Compare this to the one call that I made from our hotel room in Rome, which cost me $17.00.
Naples
We arrived in Naples around 2:30 the next afternoon and had no problem finding Alex, who was waiting for us at the entrance to the NATO Military Base.Alex is with the American Allied Forces, stationed at the NATO base in Naples. After a warm greeting and an exchange of current news, Alex informed us that he had made arrangements for Joe and I to stay at a hotel, which was near his home. A short time later we arrived at the hotel and found it very nice and very new, not more than a few years old at most. It was also evident that Alex knew and was very well thought of by the owner. Later on, it seemed that Alex was known and very well regarded almost everywhere in Naples that we went. I want to add, too, that Alex is indeed very personable and does have a certain charisma that special people often have. So it was easy for Joe and I to understand why people have such an easy time taking to him. Also we found his wife and teenage daughter to be equally friendly. Joe and I immediately felt very welcome in his house because of this. In Naples, Alex took us anywhere that we wanted to go. This included sightseeing, shopping, some great restaurants, and, when he found out that we had been in Rome and not seen the Pope, he arranged for the three of us to return to Rome so that we might do so. In every single case, when Joe and I tried to pay a bill, we found that it had already been paid for. After the third day in Naples, Joe and I checked out of our hotel and started off for Calabria. Here again when we went to check out we found that the hotel bill had been paid. When we inquired, neither the hotel owner nor Alex would tell us who had paid the bill, but of course by now we had a pretty good idea. We had hoped Alex would be able to get time off to join us on our trip to Oriolo, but unfortunately this wasn’t possible.
Heading South
We left early that morning and drove south to Calabria,running into a bad snow storm in the mountain regions of Campania and Bassalicata. It was slow traveling and we prayed that we wouldn’t find these same conditions where we would be staying in NE Calabria. Then too, because of the weather conditions, we took a long way across, in order to avoid the narrow mountain roads as much as possible. We came across Bassalacata, through Potenzo to Metopontom where we hit the Ionion coast and from there headed south to Amendolaro. We arrived in Amendolaro at around 6 PM on the 11th of February. Joe and I had decided earlier that we would stay in a hotel and not inconvenience anyone, since we both smoke and have a tendency to wake up at all hours of the nights. We checked into the ‘Grillo’ which is the only hotel in the area. Not as upscale as many of the previous hotels that we had stayed in, but not really bad either. There was also a fine restaurant in the hotel where we found the food to be very good. After supper, Joe and I got in the car and took a ride to look at Oriolo (6 miles). By now it was around 8:30, but we thought we would take a ride just to have a fast look around. It didn’t take long before we got within view of Oriolo.

The Grillo Hotel in Amendolara. Not a five star hotel, but confortable and resonably priced.

From a very long distance you can see the lights of the village high above the hills, especially the castle, which is kept illuminated through the night. We drove into Oriolo to find the village extremely quiet. Missing were the large groups of village men that are usually found standing on the street corners. Although the Valaros Bar was still open, we decided not to stop, since it would be better to get a fresh start in the morning.

So after driving around the village for a bit we eventually headed back to our hotel in Amendolaro, where we got a good night’s sleep before returning to Oriolo in the morning.

The Power of the Internet
We drove into Oriolo the following morning and parked in front of the Valaros Bar where we planned to seek out Josephina Valero. We were told that she spoke English and might be willing to help us during our stay. I had a letter from her cousin, Catherine Chippari, which among other things contained an introduction and a short explanation of our group. When inside, we each ordered a cup of coffee and introduced ourselves to Mario and Francisco Valero. Neither brother had recognized me until I gave my name. It had been over 10 years since I had been there last. We soon explained that we had a letter for Mario’s daughter, from her cousin Catherine in America. Mario left, and returned shortly with Josephine. We presented her with the letter, which she was very excited upon receiving, and after reading it, agreed to help us out in any way she could. At this point Joe explained that he did not know whether he had any Spagna relatives who would still remember his grandfather and other family members. After hearing this, Josephina suggested that she bring us over to meet Francisco Spagna, who had a photo shop not far away, because he possibly might be able to contribute some information.

In Oriolo, Joe is greeted by popular Calabrian artist "Melfe".

We soon arrived at the ‘Spagna Photo Shop’, where we met Francisco, who was very happy to meet us, and especially pleased at the prospect that Joe might be a long lost cousin. Francisco spoke very little English, but with Josephina’s assistance, we were all able to communicate with few problems

Francisco then anxiously invited us all to his home, where we could meet his wife, family, and his parents, whom he felt might be able to offer more information. At his home, which was only a few doors away, we were very well received and found everyone very enthusiastic about Joe’s possible family ties. We proceeded to discuss this in great depth over coffee and refreshments. Then, shortly after arriving, there was a knock at the door and a young man appeared to inform us that we (Joe and I) were expected at the Municipal Office, and was very anxious for us to go there right away. At this point, Joe and I had not the faintest idea of what was going on, nor could we have guessed.

Welcome to Oriolo
Two months prior to our trip, I had received a letter from the Mayor (Mario Mauri) of Oriolo "To wish our ‘Oriolo Group’ a Merry Christmas", to which I had replied and at the same time, casually mentioned that I would be traveling to Calabria and would be in Oriolo on the 12th of February. I also added that I hoped that it might be possible for us to meet at some point during my stay. Since I never recieved a reply, I assumed that the situation wouldn’t amount to anything further. So Joe and I were totally unaware of the events that were to follow.
When we arrived at the Municipal Office, accompanied by Josephina and Francisco, we were met at the door not only by Mayor Mauri, but also most of the other city dignitaries as well. Also present was Luca Masacco, owner of the ‘Jionionet’ web server, and web master of their ‘Oriolo’ web page. I had had previous contact with him via email. Introductions were made by a young man named Giuseppi Gulla who was doing a college internship with the village.

He spoke three languages, including of course, English, and spoke it very well, I might add. After the introductions, we were led into a large meeting room, where Joe and I were seated at a large conference table. He and I were placed on either side of the Mayor, with the interpreter seated to our left. The Mayor then made a short welcoming speech, which was translated to us by Giuseppi and then, to our great surprise, opened a large, square box which had been placed on the table in front of him. The box contained a beautiful commemorative plaque, inscribed for the occasion. This he presented to us in a very formal manner, to the approval of the small audience of friends and officials. We expressed our thanks separately (I was in such a state of joy at the time that I can barely remember what I said upon receiving this wonderful tribute).

The 12th Century castle at "Oriolo" stands out in a moutain setting.

In fact, I may have been speechless for the first time in my life. At the time I could only think of what a great honor it was for us to be receiving such a meaningful recognition from the land of my origin, and how my parents might have felt, if they were still living. This was truly a great honor! Certainly more than I could ever have hoped for. Along with the plaque, we were presented with a variety of books and other materials about Oriolo, along with two video tapes containing footage on Oriolo history, festivals, etc. (unfortunately, after arriving home, we found that these videos are in European format and must be transferred to a VHS format in order to be viewed) Giuseppi explained that they were also working on a book that would be in English but this was not yet available. We spent the next hour or so discussing our Internet status and the future of our research group and its affiliation with Oriolo. Through the interpreter we were able to discuss various issues in depth. Among other things we were informed that the people of the village of Oriolo wanted to establish a stronger relationship with our Internet group, and so they asked permission to make references and use materials from our web pages, which I gladly agreed to. I then suggested that an English version of their web pages would be a great improvement since the largest number of Internet users are English speaking. They agreed and said thatvplans were already in the process. Luca also informed us at this time that plans were also underway to archive all of their genealogical records on the Internet in the very near future. To this Joe and I expressed a great show of gratitude and explained how big a step this would be for all of us. (It must be noted that elections are coming up in July, and Mayor Mario Mauri’s seat is one that will be up for election. We can only hope that he is reelected, along with the present council members, since a new mayor and council could very well have different feelings about this whole program.) We then moved on to other topics, and eventually came to the subject of tourism. Since there is little, if any, industry in Oriolo, and little hope for any in the future, we were all in agreement that tourism was probably the only chance they could possibly have. The Mayor then explained their plans, which they hoped would improve tourism to Oriolo. We found the whole conversation very interesting and their attitudes to be extremely positive. It must be mentioned here that Oriolo has one of the best preserved castles and ancient villages in all of Italy. One of their goals is to promote tourism by modernizing the 13th century dwellings which surround the castle to make them available for rental, while work has already begun to upgrade the castle to make it more accessible. It’s a great plan and I have no doubt that it will prove successful. The possibilities are truly limitless! Among some of the other things we discussed were ways to encourage involvement of the villagers themselves, with the intent of creating a ‘festival’ atmosphere. It is hoped that the locals will want to participate and that Oriolo will be able to present a Medieval theme. Traditional costumed street merchants, shops, art craft and food demonstrations and sales, street celebrations with folk music and dancing. Donkey cart rides, to transport people through the narrow streets, were among some of the many things we touched on. The castle, too, would be an excellent place for an historic center and museum. As I have said before, the possibilities are limitless.
After our meeting was over, a large number of pictures were taken by both their photographers, and by Joe and I. Giuseppi then informed us that we were invited to share a dinner which was held in our behalf. He also informed us that he would be our interpreter for the time that we would be spending in Oriolo. This was at the request of the mayor. For Joe and I, this was truly great news. Giuseppi was later to become our chauffeur and tour guide, as well as interpreter. The rest of our story mainly consists of our experiences around Oriolo, meeting friends and relatives, and a lot of great family dinners but these are all stories for another time.

Note: I am pleased to report that In the election held following this article, Mayor Mario Mauri was re-elected as were most of the other officials.